IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS OF RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lloyd Wise, of 7, Whitehall Place, in the City
of Westminster, for an Invention of "IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS
OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS OF RAILWAY TRAINS." A com-
munication from abroad by Messieurs Ronfaut and Gaye, of Paris, in the
Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lloyd Wise at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th February 1881.
WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 7, Whitehall Place, in the City of Westminster.
"IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS
OF RAILWAY TRAINS." A communication from abroad by Messieurs Ronfaut and
Gaye, of Paris, in the Republic of France..
This Invention has reference to means for automatically controlling trains upon
railways worked upon the block system, and also to new and improved methods of
signalling to trains.
According to this Invention there is
vertical sliding rod connected by suitable
alarm apparatus (a steam whistle or bell).
work the brakes.
applied to the side of the locomotive a
mechanism to the regulator and to an
This sliding rod can also be arranged to
At the entrance to every section of the block system there is provided a movable
bar or rail, worked by an arrangement of levers so as to take a horizontal or an
inclined position, and to operate when inclined the said sliding vertical rod when
this rod comes in contact with it.
Near the above mentioned inclined bar or rail there is fixed a similar bar or rail
parallel to the first, connected to it in such a way that when the one falls and
becomes horizontal the other rises and becomes inclined.
The second inclined bar lifts in its descent a counterweight which is retained by-
a catch electrically controlled. This said counterweight when electrically released
by apparatus operated by the train in leaving the section falls and actuates the

page_text: inclined bars or rails, placing them in the reverse position to that occupied by them
during the time that a train was in the section.
A sliding rod similar to that on the locomotive is provided behind the tender,
placed so as to correspond to the position of the second movable inclined bar. This
rod bears upon the said inclined bar or rail when the said bar is raised, forcing it
down, and thereby raising the other inclined bar and the counterweight as the train
passes over it.
A third inclined plane is arranged to form electric connection for conductors
connected with a vehicle (by preference the last), in which is a galvanic battery.
This inclined plane is designed, when the conductors are passing over it, to complete
the circuit necessary for releasing the weight connected with the inclined bars or
rails at the entrance of the section which had been mechanically raised by the
second inclined bar when the train entered the section. The above described
apparatus are to be applied at the beginning and also at the end of every section of
the block system. The inclined bar or rail which operates the vertical sliding rod
of the locomotive may be fixed in stations and controlled by hand as a stopping
signal, instead of the usual discs or arms, the said bar serving when raised to stop
the engine by shutting the regulator valve. The apparatus, as hereinabove
described, may be substituted for the distant signal, and be set by the locomotive
before it comes to the station; the section in such case may be opened by aid of a
commutator in the station, whereby the electric current can be established, or it
can be opened by mechanical means.
In short sections the operations, hereinabove described as being effected by aid
of electricity, may be accomplished by mechanical means.
Three Sheets of Drawings are appended hereto by way of illustration.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 relate to that part of the apparatus carried on the locomotive.
F is the vertical sliding rod; K, K¹, K", its bearings; V, the rod operating the
regulator valve; P, the whistle; f, an incline on the rod serving to actuate the
anti-friction pulley ? on the lever O; N, N', are brackets secured to the boiler; q is
the support of the lever O. Sheet 2 illustrates that part of the apparatus fixed at
the ends of a block section. X is the first and Y the second inclined bar or rail;
O is the inclined plane with the contact, pieces m, m', which make electrical
connection with the conductors H, H¹; Z, Z, are the levers that raise the bars X
and Y; T is the counterweight on the lever I. Sheet 3 of the Drawings illustrates
the Invention diagrammatically.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Lloyd Wise in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
August 1881.
WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 7, Whitehall Place, in the City of Westminster,
"IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS
OF RAILWAY TRAINS." (A communication from abroad by Messieurs Ronfaut and
Gaye, of Paris, in the Republic of France.)
This Invention has reference to means for automatically controlling trains upon
railways worked upon the block system, and also to new and improved methods of
signalling to trains.
According to this Invention there is applied to the side of the locomotive a
vertical sliding rod connected by suitable mechanism to the regulator and to an
alarm apparatus (a steam whistle or bell). This sliding rod can also be arranged to
work the brakes.
At the entrance to every section of the block system there is provided a moveable
bar or rail worked by an arrangement of levers so as to take a horizontal or
an inclined position, and to operate, when inclined, the said sliding vertical rod
when this rod comes in contact with it.
Near the abovementioned inclined bar or rail there is fixed a similar bar or rail
parallel to the first, connected to it in such a way that when the one falls and
becomes horizontal, the other rises and becomes inclined.
The second inclined bar lifts in its descent a counterweight which is retained by
a catch electrically controlled. This said counterweight when electrically released
by apparatus operated by the train in leaving the section, falls and actuates the
inclined bars or rails, placing them in the reverse position to that occupied by them
during the time that a train was in the section.
A sliding rod similar to that on the locomotive is provided behind the tender,
placed so as to correspond to the position of the second moveable inclined bar.
This rod bears upon the said inclined bar or rail when the said bar is raised, forcing
it down and thereby raising the other inclined bar and the counterweight as the
train passes over it.
A third inclined plane is arranged to form electric connection for conductors
connected with a vehicle (by preference the last), in which is a galvanic battery.
This inclined plane is designed when the conductors are passing over it to complete
the circuit necessary for releasing the weight connected with the inclined bars or
rails at the entrance of the section which had been mechanically raised by the
second inclined bar when the train entered the section. The above described
apparatus are to be applied at the beginning and also at the end of every section of
the block system. The inclined bar or rail which operates the vertical sliding rod
of the locomotive may be fixed in stations and controlled by hand as a stopping
signal, instead of the usual discs or arms, the said bar serving when raised to stop
the engine by shutting the regulator valve. The apparatus as hereinabove
described may be substituted for the distant signal and be set by the locomotive
before it comes to the station; the section in such case may be opened by aid of a
commutator in the station, whereby the electric current can be established, or it can
be opened by mechanical means.
In short sections the operations hereinabove described as being effected by aid of
electricity may be accomplished by mechanical means.
Referring to the accompanying three Sheets of Drawings, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4

page_text: represent the parts or mechanism according to this Invention attached to the
locomotive.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section; Fig. 2 is a plan.
Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in line A, B, Fig. 1 shewing the manner in which
the rod F is guided in the bearing K.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 represent the parts or apparatus according to our
Invention that are fixed on the track or permanent way.
Fig. 5 is an elevation partly in section taken parallel to the rails..
Fig. 6 is a front view of the slide of the stop block.
Fig. 7 is a front view of the catch apparatus.
Fig. 8 is a plan of the slide shewn in Fig. 6.
Fig. 9 is a plan of the cast iron box which carries the apparatus.
Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the fixed inclined plane which serves to complete
the electrical circuits for unlocking the apparatus.
Fig. 10bis is an end elevation of the same..
Fig. 11 is a plan of the same.
Figs. 12, 13, and 14 illustrate a modification of this Invention, specially adapted
to replace the signal discs or arms now in use.
Fig. 12 is an elevation partly in section parallel to the rails.
Fig. 13 is a plan.
Fig. 14 is an end elevation partly in section.
Figs. 15, 10, 16a, 17, and 17ª represent to a reduced scale various applications of
the system upon sections of railway.
Returning to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, F is a vertical rod which by the lever O and by
the endwise movement of the connecting rod T shuts the regulator. The rod Fis
guided in the bearings K, K¹, K¹, and in the sector L. S is an antifriction roller
at the lower part of the rod F, and is designed to run upon an inclined bar or
plane upon the permanent way during the progress of the locomotive. L is a
sector composed of two parallel plates m, m³, held apart by the distance pieces or
stays i, i; one of the plates carries two arms n, n¹, united and fixed at P.
N, N¹, are supports fixed to the boiler by aid of the plates s, s¹, and serve to support
the sector L. O is a forked lever pivotted at P to the upper part of the support g.
One of the extremities of the lever is a double fork jointed to the connecting rod
of the regulator, while the other extremity terminates in an axis or a stud R, which
carries the antifriction roller and the sliding piece J. The antifriction roller ?
runs against the inclined plane f of the rod F. g is a support carrying the lever O
and the arms n and n¹; U is a coupling piece on the connecting rod T, carrying
two journals for connection with the lever O. K, K, K", are bearings serving to
guide the rod F; N2 is a steam whistle.
Referring to Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, A is a pile supporting the frame B;
C is an electro-magnet acting upon an armature upon the lever E and provided
with a coil or coils, one end of which is electrically connected to earth and the
other to the contact piece O; E is a lever pivotted at Gand controlling by means of
the coupling link F the catch S; is a spring pressing on the catch S; K is a
coupling link operated by the lever L and shaft V; M is a stop block moveable in
a vertical slide in the frame B and jointed to the link K; a is a locking notch;
N, a cast iron box; T, a counterweight; U, a horizontal shaft perpendicular to the
line of rails and capable of turning or oscillating in the box; O, a fixed inclined
plane carrying two metal bars m, m¹, one of which is in electrical communication
with the earth and the other with the coils of the electro-magnet; H, H', are
metallic brushes or springs fixed to the rear of the tender. These brushes, which
are insulated from one another, are in connection respectively with the two poles
of an electric battery upon the tender. Z, Z', are cams acting on the inclined
planes X & Y, which can assume a horizontal or an inclined position.
When one
is horizontal the other is inclined, and vice versa. X communicates movement to

page_text: the rod F on the locomotive, and Y is depressed, raising at the same time by means
of the cams Z, Z, and shaft V the bar or plane X by the action or passage over it
of a jointed rod or lever at the rear end of the tender.
In Figs. 12, 13, and 14, F is the vertical rod, already described as attached to
the locomotive, and marked by the same letter of reference in Figs. 1, 3, and 4;
is a bar or plane that can be caused to assume either a horizontal or inclined
position; Z is a cam fixed upon the shaft V and serving to raise the bar or plane x
when V is rotated; J is a cast iron box; V, a shaft carried by the plummer
block G and by two bearings cast on the box J; K, a lever fixed on the shaft V,
and connected at its extremities to wires or chains worked by the signal man;
M is a lever carrying the counterweight N.
Commencing with the parts of the apparatus according to this Invention on the
train, partly shewn in Figs. 1, 2. 3, and 4, the tender carries at its rear a vertical
jointed rod or lever intended to effect the depression of an inclined bar or plane
upon the permanent way. The rod is jointed, so that it may act in one direction
only, that is, in the forward motion.
The tender carries also two metallic brushes or springs, which act as electrical
contacts, as already described above, and which are in communication respectively
with the poles of an electric battery.
The locomotive carries a vertical jointed rod or lever F, guided by the two
bearings K & K' bolted to the framing and by the bearing Ku fixed to the
boiler. The vertical rod F, furnished with the antifriction roller S at its lower
extremity, enters at its upper end into a sector composed of two parallel plates m
and m², connected by intermediate pieces i and i'. Between the plates there slides
the head of a horizontal lever O, pivotted at P to the support q. When the rod F
rises it bears by the inclined part f against a bowl or roller at the end of the
lever O, which, turning around the point P, operates by its other extremity the
connecting rod of the regulator.. In a certain time after the supply of steam has
been cut off the engine comes to a stand still, the attention of the driver having in
the meanwhile been aroused by the whistle set in operation by the upward
movement of the rod F, which is produced by its passage over an inclined bar or
rod fixed in the permanent way.
Turning now to the apparatus fixed upon the ground, and considering first that
arrangement of it which is suitable for preventing collisions of trains running upon
a double track or line of rails, and further supposing the line to be divided into
parts or sections of nearly equal length, and which may in some cases correspond
with the number or positions of the stations, it will be understood that there is
fixed at the entrance of each section at one side of the centre line of the way (by
preference the left side) the apparatus shewn in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. This
apparatus comprises a double cast iron box N placed in the ballast and traversed
by a shaft V, which turns in two bearings cast on the box. The shaft V carries in
the larger compartment of the box a cam or lever z¹ and also a lever L furnished
with a counterweight T. The cam Z' is in contact with an inclined plane or bar Y
parallel to the rails, and upon which the vertical rod or lever carried by the tender
runs in its passage over it, as hereinabove explained. In the second compartment
of the cast iron box the shaft V carries a bent lever z in contact with the inclined
plane or bar X, which is so placed as to correspond with the path of the vertical.
rod carried by the locomotive.
When the line is clear the plane or bar X is depressed into the horizontal
position or attitude and the bar Y is inclined. When a train passes over the bars
their relative positions are reversed; Y is depressed under the action of the rod or
lever on the tender and in falling raises the bar X, which protects the train from
a succeeding one behind it by producing upon the second the effect hereinabove
described.
It is necessary that the bar X should remain inclined until the train shall have
passed out of the section. In rising, the lever L by means of the link K lifts the

page_text: block M in the vertical slot in which it travels until the notch a is locked by the
catch 8.
When the train has passed out of a given section and has traversed a sufficient
portion of the next, it releases or sets to "line clear" the above described apparatus
in the following manner:-The metallic brushes or springs H, H', fixed at the
rear of the tender insulated from each other and connected to the poles of a
galvanic battery sweep over the fixed inclined plane O, which carries two metal
bars m and m', also electrically insulated from each other, but connected the one
to earth and the other to the coils of the electro-magnet C. The brushes when in
contact with the bars complete the circuit, which beginning with the bar coupled
to earth passes by one brush to the battery, down the second brush to the second
bar, along the line wire (shewn in the Drawings as an irregular line connecting
Figs. 10 and 5) around the coils of the electro-magnet and away to earth. Upon
the passage of the current the armature and lever is attracted by the magnet, the
catch s is drawn out of the notch a, the bar X falls down, and the line is clear.
If, from any cause, the unlocking or releasing of the apparatus is not effected, the
only result is that a false signal or alarm is given to the following train. Fig. 15
shews diagrammatically the two different positions of the levers X and Y, and
further indicates the crossing or overlapping of the spaces or fields of operation of
the successive apparatus on the line. To the two apparatus X¹, Y₁, X², Y²,
correspond respectively the electrical unlocking places or stations 01, 02, from
which it is evident that the apparatus X¹, Y₁, is not unlocked or released until
after the train has passed to the second apparatus X2, Y.
The apparatus just above described is designed for lines of rail upon which the
trains circulate in one direction only, but by the use of a double series such apparatus
may be adapted to single lines of rail, upon which the trains run in both directions.
In that case a train entering a section will set the signals to protect itself both
before and behind.
Other modifications of this Invention may be constructed to secure the safety
of trains, as, for example, the apparatus represented in Figs. 12, 13, and 14 may be
substituted for the ordinary signal discs or arms. In this apparatus, which is
similar or nearly so to the half of the apparatus hercinabove just described, the
inclined plane x is normally horizontal and the line clear. In case of danger the
signal man can effect mechanically the stoppage of the train by operating upon the
lever K fixed on the shaft V by means of wires or chains, and thereby raising
the bar a into the inclined position.
There can also be employed for this same purpose the double box shewn in
Fig. 5. In this case the way is usually kept closed, and opened only for passage of
each train by a special agent. The means of communication may be either
electrical or mechanical. The train in passing closes or blocks the way behind it.
Apparatus according to this Invention can always be arranged so that the station
master can stop the trains, and also that the trains will give notice to the station
of their approach.
When the sections are short the electrical unlocking bars can be replaced by
levers X similar to that represented in Fig. 12. By connecting a small lever similar
to the lever K by means of a chain or a wire to the system of counterweights
described above with reference to Fig. 5, which serves to operate the levers X
and Y, the unlocking can be effected mechanically. Fig. 16 represents such an
arrangement. The train in passing over the apparatus X, Y, raises the lever. O, and
afterwards in passing over the lever O it depresses it and effects the unlocking;
Fig. 16a shews the crossing or overlapping of the spaces or fields of operation of
the successive apparatus; Fig. 17 shews diagrammatically in elevation, and
Fig. 17 in plan 'the arrangement of apparatus according to this Invention on a
single line of rails on which the trains circulate in opposite directions.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which
it is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, as communicated

page_text: to me as aforesaid, I would have it understood that what is claimed as secured to
me by the Letters Patent herein before in part recited is,-
1. The method of automatically arresting a train by causing a rod or bar carried
by the locomotive when acted upon by an inclined bar or surface upon the
permanent way to move upward and through suitable mechanism to shut off the
supply of actuating fluid to the engine, substantially as described.
2. Providing at intervals along a line of railway apparatus, each comprising a
pair of bars or planes so arranged that when they are in the attitute corresponding
to "line clear," one will be in such a position that on the passage of a train it
will be depressed by the action of a jointed rod carried by one vehicle, by preference
the last of such train, whilst the other bar or plane of the pair will be raised so as
to form a guard behind the said train by acting upon the vertical rod (referred to
in the preceding claim) carried by the locomotive of the following train, substantially
as described.
3. Effecting the electrical unlocking of apparatus such as referred to in the
preceding claim, by the use of fixed inclines, substantially as described.
4. The general arrangement and combination of apparatus for preventing
collisions of railway trains, as described and shewn in the Drawings, Figs. 1 to 11
inclusive.
5. The use in lieu of semaphore arm or disc signals of apparatus constructed,
arranged, and operated, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 12, 13,
and 14 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lloyd Wise, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
W. LLOYD WISE. (L.S.)