Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Controlling the Traffic on Single Lines of Railway
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 19th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 18th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION,
"Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Controlling
the Traffic on Single Lines of Railway."
We, FRANCIS WILLIAM WEBB, of Chester Place, Crewe, in the County of Chester,
Engineer; GEORGE EDWARDS, of the Railway Signal Company Limited. Fazakerley,
Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer; and ARTHUR MOORE THOMPSON, of
Holly Bank, Crewe, aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to apparatus for controlling the traffic on single lines of
railway wherein staffs or their equivalents (for brevity we will refer to them as staffs)
are used so that when a staff is withdrawn from an instrument at one end of a section
of a line the apparatus is rendered inoperative for the withdrawal of a staff until
the staff so removed is inserted in the instrument at the other end of the section or
returned to the instrument from which it was withdrawn and thus until the driver in
charge of a train despatched from one end of the section with a staff removed from
the instrument at that end and there delivered to him, arrives at the other end of
the section of the line and the staff is placed in the instrument at that end or is
replaced in the instrument from which it was withdrawn no train can be improperly
despatched if the rule be observed that no train travels without a staff in the
possession of its driver. Apparatus for this purpose is described in the Specifications
of Letters Patent No. 1263 dated the 23rd January 1889 and No. 9084 dated the
12th June 1890, but the improvements according to our present invention are not
limited in their application to the particular apparatus therein described.
The object of our present invention is to improve and increase the utility of such
apparatus by making the electric.connection or line by which the instruments are
electrically operated capable of use also for transmitting telephonic messages and
further by substituting a magneto-electric generator for the batteries hitherto used
for generating the electric current used in such apparatus and further by providing
staffs such that several trains can be despatched successively from one end of a
section to the other end when required whilst still not allowing of a further staff being
removed until all the trains so despatched have passed over the section and further
by providing an arrangement by means of which when required an engine can be
sent along a portion of the section only for helping a train for instance up a bank or
incline in part of the section (and usually known as a "banking engine") whilst a
further staff cannot be removed until the engine has returned from the said section.
In carrying this invention into effect we provide in connection with the line by
which the electric current is transmitted between the staff instruments and in
connection with each such instrument either in the instrument itself or in a separate
We arrange
casing the instrumentalities of a telephone transmitter and receiver.
the receiver or combined receiver and transmitter in connection with a lever or the
like so that when the telephone is not in use such contact is, or contacts are, made
that the line is in connection with the staff instruments, but should the receiver or
combined receiver and transmitter be removed a spring or other device operates the
lever or the like so as to cause a contact or contacts to be made to disconnect the line
The bell code for
from the staff instrument. and connect it with the telephone.

page_text: the telephone can be given on the staff instrument bell and by means of the same
tapper key.
By substituting a magneto-electric generator for the Leclauché or other battery
hitherto employed to supply electric current to the coils in the staff instrument
we do away with the objections applying to the use of such battery. We provide
this magneto-electric generator with a commutator to give a continuous current
and we provide a ratchet and pawl or the like in connection with the driving
inechanism of the said generator so as to prevent the armature from being turned
in the wrong direction. The said generator may be operated by hand or by means
of a treadle or by means of a coiled spring or weight or any other suitable means.
In order to allow of several trains being despatched from the end of a section as
aforesaid we provide a staff in two three or more parts capable of being detached
from each other and of being connected together again so that on the staff being
removed from the instrument at one end of a section the said staff can be divided
and a part delivered to each of the drivers of successive trains as they are despatched
but the arrangement is such that the parts of the staff must all be joined together
before they can be inserted into the staff instrument so that until all the trains have
arrived at the end of the section and the complete staff has been put together and
placed in the instrument no further staff can be withdrawn. The staffs described
in the Specification of the aforesaid Patent No. 1263 of 1889 bave four rings for
actuating four mechanical pawls in the staff instrument and a convenient arrange-
inent for the improved divisible staff is to make it in three parts, one part carrying
two rings and the other two parts carrying each one ring so that when the parts are
separated from each other the said parts cannot be placed in the staff instrument
because the absence of a ring would cause one of the mechanical pawls in the
instrument to remain unactuated.
If a staff be thus divided for example into three parts and one part be given to the
driver of each train, three trains can be sent from one station to another station and
no further staff can be obtained from the instrument at either station until all three
trains have arrived at the second station and the three portions of the staff have been
put together and the complete staff inserted in the instrument at the second station.
This arrangement therefore allows trains to be worked on what is known as the
permissive or time system and it can be used when an intermediate block post
without staff instruments is introduced between two staff stations. .
"
To enable a "banking engine or the like as aforesaid to be safely employed we
provide a supplementary staff to be used by the driver thereof, the said
supplementary staff being arranged in a box or casing which contains a switch and a
lock which lock can be operated only by an ordinary staff used as a key so that to
free the supplementary staff from the box or casing it is necessary to withdraw a staff
from the staff instrument and insert this staff into the supplementary staff box or
casing which it unlocks and the supplementary staff can then be withdrawn, its
withdrawal changing the position of the switch so as to sever the connection between.
the line and the staff instrument, and thus no further staffs can be obtained from the
staff instruments at either end of the section until the supplementary staff has been
replaced in its box or casing and the electric connection again established.
The ordinary staff withdrawn to unlock the supplementary or staff box is handed
to the driver of the train engine and is carried by him through to the next station
whilst the supplementary staff is handed to the driver of the banking engine or the
like who carries it with him as far as he requires to assist the train and he then
returns with the said supplementary staff to the station from which he started and
the supplementary staff is then put back in its' box or casing in which it becomes
locked and at the same time the switch is moved and the line again joined to the
staff instrument.

page_text: 66 Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Controlling
the Traffic on Single Lines of Railway."
We, FRANCIS WILLIAM WEBB, of Chester Place, Crewe in the County of Chester,
Engineer GEORGE EDWARDS of the Railway Signal Company Limited, Fazakerley,
Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, Engineer; and ARTHUR MOORE THOMPSON, of
Holly Bank, Crewe aforesaid, Engineer, 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 :-
.
Our Invention relates to apparatus for electrically controlling the traffic on single
lines of railway wherein staffs or their equivalents (for brevity we will refer to them
as staffs) are used so that when a staff is withdrawn from an instrument at one end
of a section of a line the apparatus is rendered inoperative for the withdrawal of a
staff until the staff so removed is inserted in the instrument at the other end of the
section or returned to the instrument from which it was withdrawn and thus until
the driver in charge of a train despatched from one end of the section with a staff
removed from the instrument at that end and there delivered to him, arrives at the
other end of the section of the line and the staff is placed in the instrument. at that
end or is replaced in the instrument from which it was withdrawn no train can be
improperly despatched if the rule be observed that no train travels without a staff in
the possession of its driver.
The object of our present invention is to improve and increase the utility of such
apparatus by making the electric connection or line by which the instruments are
electrically operated capable of use also for transmitting telephonic messages and
further by substituting a magneto-electric generator for the batteries hitherto used
for generating the electric current used in such apparatus and further by providing
staffs constructed as hereinafter described so that several trains can be dispatched
successively from one end of a section to the other end when required, whilst still
not allowing of a further staff being removed until all the trains so dispatched have
passed over the section and further by providing an arrangement by means of which
when required an engine can be sent along a portion of the section only for helping
a train for instance up a bank or incline in part of the section (and usually known as
banking engine ") whilst a further staff cannot be removed until the engine
has returned from the said section.
ઘ
In carrying this Invention into effect we provide in connection with the line by
which the electric current is transmitted between the staff instruments and in
connection with each such instrument either in the instrument itself or in a separate
casing the instrumentalities of a telephone transmitter and receiver
We arrange
the receiver, or receiver and transmitter, in connection with a lever or the like, so
that when the telephone is not in use such contact is, or contacts are made, that the
line is in connection with the staff instruments, but should the receiver, or receiver
and transmitter, be removed, a spring or other device operates the lever or the like
so as to cause a contact or contacts to be made to disconnect the line from tne staff
instrument and connect it with the telephone. The bell code for the telephone can
be given on the staff instrument bell and by means of the same tapper key.
By substituting a magneto-electric generator for the Leclauché or other battery
hitherto employed to supply electric current to the coils in the staff instrument, we

page_text: do away with the objections applying to the use of such battery. We provide this
magneto-electric generator with a commutator to give a continuous current, and we
provide a ratchet and pawl or the like in connection with the driving mechanism of
the said generator so as to prevent the armature from being turned in the wrong
direction. The said generator may be operated by hand, or by means of a treadle, or
In order to
by means of a coiled spring or weight, or any other suitable means.
allow of several trains being dispatched from the end of a section as aforesaid, we
provide a staff in two three or more parts capable of being detached from each other
and of being connected together again, so that on the staff being removed from the
instrument at one end of a section, the said staff can be divided and a part delivered
to each of the drivers of successive trains as they are despatched, but the arrangement
is such that the parts of the staff must all be joined together before they can be
inserted into the staff instrument, so that until all the trains have arrived at the end
of the section and the complete staff has been put together and placed in the
instrument, no further staff can be withdrawn. The staffs say have four rings for
actuating four mechanical pawls in the staff instrument, then a convenient
arrangement for the improved divisible staff, is to make it in three parts, one part
carrying two rings, and the other two parts carrying each one rings, so that when the
parts are separated from each other the said parts cannot be placed in the staff
instrument, because the absence of a ring would cause one of the mechanical pawls
in the instrument to remain unactuated.
If a staff be thus divided for example into three parts and one part be given to the
driver of each train, three trains can be sent from one station to another station and no
further staff can be obtained from the instrument at either station until all three
trains have arrived at the second station and the three portions of the staff have been
put together and the complete staff inserted in the instrument at the second station.
This arrangement therefore allows trains to be worked on what is known as the
permissive or time system, and it can be used when an intermediate block post
without staff instruments is introduced between two staff stations.
To enable a 66
banking engine" or the like as aforesaid to be safely employed, we
provide a supplementary staff to be used by the driver thereof, the said supplementary
staff being arranged in a box or casing which contains a switch and a lock, which
lock can be operated only by an ordinary staff used as a key, so that to free the
supplementary staff from the box or casing, it is necessary to withdraw a staff from
the staff instrument and insert this staff into the supplementary staff box or casing
which it unlocks, and the supplementary staff can then be withdrawn, its withdrawal
changing the position of the switch so as to sever the connection between the line
and the staff instrument, and thus no further staffs can be obtained from the staff
instruments at either end of the section until the supplementary staff has been
replaced in its box or casing and the electric connection again established.
The ordinary staff withdrawn to unlock the supplementary or staff box is handed
to the driver of the train engine and is carried by him through to the next station,
whilst the supplementary staff is handed to the driver of the banking engine or the
like who carries it with him as far as he requires to assist the train, and he then
returns with the said supplementary staff to the station from which he started, and
the supplementary staff is then put back in its box or casing in which it becomes
locked, and at the same time the switch is moved and the line again joined to the
staff instrument.
A is
In order that our invention may be perfectly understood we will describe with
.reference to the accompanying drawings arrangements in accordance therewith :-
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the wiring of our combined instrument.
the inagneto-electric generator, and B is a switch in connection with the said
generator, C is a primary battery, D a bell, E a telephone transmitter, Fa
telephone receiver, G telephone induction coils, H is a telephone induction coil
switch, Ja telephone receiver switch, K a bell switch, and 1, M, N, are respectively
switches, magnet coils and galvanometer, as used in what are known as the Webb
& Thompson Staff Apparatus for controlling the traffic on single line railways.

page_text: If a bell signal has to be given the switch K, is reversed, and a current leaves the
primary battery C at a and passes to the switch B and through 6 to c, and thence
through d, e, f, g, h, i, x³, j, k, l, m, o, and out to the line wire. The instrument
at the receiving station being wired in the same manner, it enters that instrument
by the line wire, passes (now regarding Figure 1 as representing that other
instrument) through o, m, l, k, j, x³, i, h, g, f, e, d, and (as the switch K in
this instrument is not reversed) the current then passes to p and by Ex of switch B
through 8, through the bell to t, and through u, v, and w to earth
It enters the instrument of the sending station at earth x² and passes
through toy thus completing the bell circuit.
at 2.
The bell signals having been given as described if a staff has to be withdrawn the
current is sent to withdraw the staff by the magneto-generator A being turned and at
the same time the switch B is reversed. The current leaves the magneto at z and
passes through 21, 22, d, e, f, g, h, i, x³, j, k, l, m, o and then to line, it then enters the
instrument at the receiving station by line and passes (regarding now Figure 1 as
representing this instrument) through o, m, l, k, j, a, i, h, g, f, e, d, and (as the
switch B of this second instrument is not reversed) the current passes through p and
by Ex of switch B to q, and as the switch L q, at the receiving station is reversed the
current passes to and through the staff instrument coil, which it energises, to 2³
and through uv and w to earth. The current then enters the instrument at the
sending station at earth and passes to w and through v back to the magneto-gene-
rator A, completing the circuit.
If the telephone has to be used the bell signals are given as herein before described,
and the receiver F at both stations is taken off the switch J, which causes the
switch H to make contact at a' and an electric current to pass from the battery C
from a through a¹, à², a³, at, a³, and aº, to the battery at y where the circuit is
completed thus energising the telephone induction coils G. The telephone circuit
now starts from 61 and passes through 62, 63, 1, m and o, to line, it enters the instru-
ment at the receiving station (regarding now Figure 1 as representing that instrument)
from line at o through m, l, 13, b², b¹, ƒ³, f', ƒ³, to earth at x². It re-enters the instru-
ment at the sending station at earth passes to f³, and through f², f, to b¹ where the
circuit is completed.
The magneto-generator A may be of the well-known or any suitable kind to give
a direct current of say about half an ampère at a pressure of about 30 volts, and
each machine should be provided with a pawl and ratchet, or other convenient device
to ensure the armature of the generator being turned in one direction only.
Figures 2 and 3 shew our improved divided staff, Figure 2 shewing the parts
joined together to make a complete staff A, and Figure 3 shewing them separated the
separated parts being marked B, C, D. a, b, c, d, are rings, or collars, attached to
the several parts of the staff, and these are all required in the position shewn in
Figure 2 to actuate the pawls in the apparatus to enable a staff to be withdrawn from,
or inserted into, the instrument. It follows that, if any one of the pieces B, C, or D,
be detached, one, or more, of these rings, or collars, will also be detiched, and
consequently if a train be sent away with a portion (say that marked B) the remaining
portions of the staff cannot be put back in the instrument because one of the rings,
or coliars, a is absent, and therefore until all of the parts of the staff are joined
together to constitute a complete staff, it cannot be returned to the apparatus. The
several portions of the staff are secured together by means of screw fastenings,
male screw being formed on the part D at e and at f and female screws being formed
on the parts B and C at g and h, but any other fastening such as a bayonet joint may
be used instead of screws.
a
Figures 4 to 8 shew the arrangement of the "bank engine" staff, staff box, and
switch. Figure 4 is a front elevation, Figure a sectional side elevation and Figure 6
a plan partially in section. Figure 7 shews an ordinary train staff, and Figure 8
shows the "bank engine" staff F withdrawn from the box. At one end of this "bank
engine" staff F is formed a key which when inserted in the "bank engine" staff box
and turned moves a sliding plate a. This plate is provided with four notches b, c, d, e,

page_text: with which engage four pawls f, g, h, j. Figure 6 shews the engine staff in place and
the sliding plate a in its normal position locked by the four pawls f, g, h, j. lis a
switch one end of which makes contact between the two terminals of the line wire,
and the other end of which bears against the sliding plate a so that when the said
plate a is moved from the position Figure 6 the contact between the two ends of the
line wire is broken. The position of this switch in the circuft is shewn at a³ in
Figure 1.
We will now assume that a train requires a "bank engine." The train engine
staff is first obtained from the staff instrument in the usual way, and it is inserted in
the opening G Figure 5. The staff is then passed down to the bottom of the slot H
and when in this position the four collars on the said staff (marked m, n, o, p, in
Figure 7) act on the pawls f, g, h, j, and withdraws them from the notches b, c, d, e,
in the sliding plate a. The plate a being now unlocked the "bank engine" staff F
can be turned and withdrawn. The turning of the "bank engine" staff F to enable
it to be withdrawn slides the plate a from the left to right (of Figure 6) and this
movement breaks contact by means of the switch between the two ends of the line
wire and thus the line wire is broken so preventing a staff from being obtained from
the instrument at either end of the section. The "bank engine" staff F is now
withdrawn from the staff box, the ordinary staff is also withdrawn and the "bank
engine" staff is handed to the driver of the "bank engine" and the ordinary staff is
nanded to the train engine driver. After the "bank engine" has assisted a train to
the required point in the section it returns and the driver gives up his staff F to the
signalinan, or other official who places it in the staff box again, when it operates the
plate à and becomes locked by the pawls f, g, h, j, and, at the same time, the switch
assumes the position in which it connects the line wires and so places the instrument
in working condition again.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1. The combination with apparatus for electrically controlling traffic on single
lines of railway, wherein staffs or their equivalents are used, of a telephone arranged
in such a way that the electric connection or line by which the said controlling
apparatus is electrically operated is capable also of use for transınitting telephonic
messages; substantially as herein before described and illustrated by Figure 1 of the
accompanying drawings.
2. The combination with the instrument used for electrically controlling traffic on
single lines of railway by staffs, or their equivalents, of a telephonic receiver, or
receiver and transmitter, in the said instrument, and means operated thereby so that
when the telephone is not in use, such contact is, or contacts are, made that the line
is in connection with the said staff instruments, but, when the telephone is in use, a
contact is, or contacts are, made to disconnect the line from the staff instrument and
connect it with the telephone, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In apparatus for electrically controlling traffic on single lines of railway by staffs
or their equivalents, the employment in connection with such apparatus of a magneto-
electric generator for generating the electric current used in such apparatus;
substantially as herein before described.
4. In apparatus for electrically controlling traffic on single lines of railway a staff
divided into several parts and constructed so as to be separated and secured together
as described so that the parts of the staff are incapable of use for allowing another
staff to be withdrawn until the said parts are jointed together as herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In apparatus for electrically controlling traffic on single lines of railway by
staffs or their equivalents, the combination of an extra staff for use by "banking
engines" or other vehicles and a staff box and a switch and controlling mechanism
so combined that the removal of further staffs from the instrument is prevented
until after the said extra staff has been returned to its box, substantially as

page_text: herein before described and illustrated in Figures 4 to 8 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 16th day of October 1897.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields London. W.C. Agents.