Improvements in Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 4th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Signalling Apparatus for Railways.
I ROBERT SIMMON, of Durham Road, Esh Winning, Water Houses, Durham,
Signalman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in signalling apparatus for railways and
has for its object to prevent a signalman from lowering his danger signal to allow a
train to pass his cabin until he has previously received permission from the
signalman in the forward or advance cabin who is himself unable to give such a
permission while another train is in his section or standing at his cabin and can
only do so when the last mentioned train has passed his cabin into the forward or
advance section.
In carrying my invention into practice I attach to the danger signal lever
required to be locked, a catch of suitable form arranged below the cabin floor so as
to be inaccessible to the signalman who is thus prevented from tampering
therewith.
Another similar catch placed in an opposite direction is arranged to lock or
engage with the first catch, being hinged at one end and furnished with a staple or
ring near the other to which a chain is attached. This chain is led through a
suitable pipe to an instrument wherein it is fixed to a crank. The instrument is
divided into two parts one of which is glazed while the other is made of wood or
other suitable material and is provided with a key hole normally barred by a needle
extending into the glazed part of the instrument. A key is provided to fit into the
keyhole aforesaid and raise the crank so as to pull the chain, disconnect the catches
and release the danger signal lever. But in order to be able to use the key which
is weighted at its outer end so that it could not be left in the key hole from which
it would drop by gravity, the needle must be removed from the keyhole. The said
needle is connected with an electric battery to which a contact lever is otherwise
connected in such a manner that when the latter is standing back in its normal
position, the electric current cannot flow, but when it is pulled half way contact is
established and the current depresses the needle aforesaid thus releasing the key
hole. The danger signal being now lowered, the signalman sounds a bell in the
cabin of the signalman at the cabin behind who pulls his danger signal lever over
thus breaking the electric connection and blocking the key hole in his cabin, the
contact lever being in such cases locked until the train signalled has passed over
and freed the appliance by reason of the flange or edge of the wheels of the train
coming into contact with a bar arranged at the facing points and connected to the
central lever in any suitable manner until every wheel has passed over the said
points.
DL:n 10th dre of Doncombo 1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in 'Signalling Apparatus for Railways..
I ROBERT SIMMON, of Durham Road, Esh Winning, Water Houses, Durham,
Signalman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in signalling apparatus and has for its
object to prevent a signalınan from lowering his danger signal to allow a train to
pass by his cabin, until he has previously received permission from the signalman
in the forward or advance cabin who is himself unable to give such permission
while another train is in his section or is standing at his cabin, and can only do so
when the last mentioned train has passed his cabin into the forward or advance
section.
In carrying my invention into practice I provide a contact lever and this lever
as well as the danger signal lever is furnished with a catch of suitable form
arranged below the cabin floor so as to be inaccessible to the signalman who is thus
prevented from tampering therewith. Another similar catch placed in an opposite
direction to the former is arranged to lock or engage with the lever catch, being
hinged at one end and furnished with a staple or ring near the other eud to which
a chain or wire is attached. This chain or wire is led through a suitable pipe or
tube to an instrument placed above the lever where it is fixed to an arm, crank or
drum in the said instrument. The front of the instrument above the signal lever
in the rear cabin (Fig. 4) is divided into two parts, one of which is glazed while
the other is made of wood or other suitable material and is provided with a key
hole normally barred by a needle extending into the glazed part of the instrument.
A key is provided to fit into the key hole aforesaid and is used to raise the arm or
crank so as to pull the chain or wire, attached to the catch d¹ and so disconnect
them, and release the danger or other signal lever. But in order to use the
key which is weighted at its outer end, so that it could not be left in the key-hole
from which it would drop by gravity, the needle must be removed from the key hole.
This needle is connected with an electric battery to which the contact lever in the
advance cabin is likewise connected in such a manner that when the latter is in its
normal position the electric current cannot flow; but when it is pulled forward
towards the signalman so that a contact is formed, the current flows freely and
deflects the needle aforesaid and thus releasing the keyhole in the rear cabin.
When the danger signal is lowered the signalman sounds a bell in the cabin of
the signalman in advance who then puts his contact lever back into its normal or
closed position thus breaking the electric connection and blocking the keyhole in
the rear cabin, the contact lever being locked by catches d and d' until the signalled
train has passed over and carried the movable slide off the keyhole in instrument
above the said lever by means of a metallic brush attached at the back of the
rearmost vehicle of the train and coming into contact with a plate arranged in the
permanent way and connected to the instrument above the contact lever in any
suitable manner (electrically).
In the accompanying drawings wherein like letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts,
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of two cabins in successive order provided with
my improved signalling apparatus and worked according to my improved system;
Fig. 1 being a side view and Fig. 2 a front view.
Fig. 3 is a detached view at an enlarged scale of the lever locking apparatus A
used in one of the cabins while Fig. 4 is a view at right angles to the former of a
lever locking apparatus B for the other cabin or vice-versa.
According to my invention the contact levers & as well as the danger signal

page_text: lever S are pivoted below the floor of the cabin and are provided with a book or
catch d which engages as aforesaid with a similar hook or catch d' the latter being
fixed to the wall or other suitable part of the cabin in such a position that when
the catch on the lever meets and engages with it, the lever is held fast until the
signalman raises the catch d' the latter being on a hinge. In all cases the
catch d' is connected by a chain or wire to a crank arm, or drum, contained in
the apparati A or B. I do not claim any particular mechanism for this purpose
and hence have not shown any; but any locking arrangement which can be opened
or released by a key will answer the purpose. The apparati A and B are provided
with a key hole k (Figs. 3 and 4.) which is normally closed or blocked by a needle n
mounted on an axis o whereon it can be freely moved under the action of an electric
current in the manner hereinafter described.
Each contact levers is locked by an apparatus such as A (Fig. 3) and each
danger signal lever is locked by an apparatus such as B (Fig. 4).
2) before the
apparatus B has been previously rendered capable of being opened by the key
which the signalman of every cabin has attached to the instrument, this being
effected by the needle of the apparatus B being deflected away from the key hole
of such apparatus B.
For this purpose it is necessary for the signalman in the cabin C to pull his
contact levers from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 into that shown in
dotted lines in the same figure, and the latter signalman is unable to do this
without he is himself able to unlock his apparatus A which he can only do after
the slide has been deflected from or carried off the key hole of such apparatus A in
consequence of the train having left the section of the line which is controlled by
the cabin (C) when the metallic brush 6 fixed to the back of the rearmost vehicle
of the train passes over the contact plate and thus causes an electric current to
deflect the needle in the apparatus A. The instrument Fig. 3 is identical in con-
struction to an ordinary single needle instrument with the exception that the
contact formed by the levers represents the handle of such instrument moved to
the right and the contact by metallic brush bp represents the handle moved
to the left. The battery connections are the same as for an ordinary instrument. In
the apparatus A Fig. 3 the needle n when deflected by the contact lever moves the
slide u over the keyhole by the same current that lifts the disc off the keyhole in
the rear cabin and the said slide is carried off the keyhole by the deflection of the
needle in the opposite direction caused by the metallic brush on last vehicle forming
a contact on the plate p, the necessary earth current being got by the socket in
which the brush rests being in connection with the axle bearings and so through
the wheels to the rail. In the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 the needle n has a circular
enlargement at one end and directly covers or discloses the key hole k. Each
apparatus (Fig. 4) is formed of a glass fronted portion a and of a wooden fronted
portion a'.
Each cabin is similarly equipped and has a battery B₁ the two wires W, W¹
which are connected to the two poles of a bobbin placed in either apparatus A or B ;
the two wires from the bobbin which are similarly lettered are connected to the
contact c', and to the contact plate p respectively.
W shows the line from the contact plate to the instrument A in cabins C or C¹.
W the line from the contact lever to said instrument A.
W is a continuation and connection between the two cabins of W'.
The arrangement above described is such that as soon as the signalman in the
cabin C has pulled his contact lever in the position shown in dotted lines and thus
released the needle in the apparatus B of the cabin C¹ the key hole of the
apparatus A in the former cabin is covered or closed by the slide u (Fig. 3) as
before shown until the train signalled has passed over the contact plate, thus
preventing the signalman from giving permission for a second train to enter the
section.
I wish it to be understood that I claim nothing in regard to the battery or to

page_text: any special construction of such or of construction of instruments further than
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The improved method of signalling on railways, whereby the signalman of one
cabin cannot lower his danger signal until the signalman of the preceding cabin
has enabled him to do so, substantially as described and shown and for the purposes
set forth.
Dated this 4th day of September 1893.
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.
HUGHES, SON & Co.,
38, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.