IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON RAILWAYS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Bradbury, of Shrewsbury, in the County
of Salop, and Joseph Bamford, of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATING
BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON RAILWAYS."
•
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Bradbury and
Joseph Bamford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
avith their Petition, on the 3rd May 1870.
We, THOMAS BRADBURY, of Shrewsbury, in the County of Salop, and
JOSEPH BAMFORD, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
IMPROVED MEANS OF
declare the nature of the said Invention for "
COMMUNICATING BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON
RAILWAYS," to be as follows :—
The object of this Invention is to afford a more ready and certain
means of communicating between the passengers, guard, and engine
driver upon railway trains in case of accident, assault, or other

page_text: emergency, and the Invention consists principally in causing a current
of air actuated by a fan, bellows, or other suitable contrivance, and
worked either by friction pulley revolving against the carriage wheels,
or by a drum or excentric on the axles of the carriage to blow or sound
a whistle attached to the carriage, and. thus give the necessary signal
or alarm.
Each carriage is provided with its own whistle and its accompanying.
apparatus, so that on making up or detaching any portion of the train
there are no connections or fastenings other than the ordinary couplings
to be attended to.
"7
The signal apparatus is to be put in gear with the wheel or axle when
required by means of a knob, lever, handle, or other similar contrivance,
one of which is placed in each compartment of the carriage, and this
knob, lever, or handle is so arranged that upon its being moved so as to
sound the whistle it shall simultaneously throw out.a semaphore at the
side or top of the carriage or compartment to indicate to the guard or
other person in charge the carriage or compartment where attention is
required.
It is also so arranged that when once put in motion the passenger
who gave the signal will have no power to put it out of gear, but this
must be done outside, as it must be pushed, pulled, or turned over a
catch, sneck, or other contrivance which the guard alone can disengage
when the cause of alarm is removed.
It can also be so arranged (if thought desirable) as to lift the roof
lamp partially out of its socket on the top of the carriage instead of or
in addition to actuating the semaphore as above described, so as to
indicate in the night time or in tunnels whence the signal proceeds.
The whistle in the guard's van. is so arranged that be can work the fan
or bellows by means of a lever or treadle when the van is not in motion,
the object being to give the guard the means of communicating a signal
to the engine driver in case of the breaking of a coupling or in a similar
contingency where the guard might require to call the attention of the
engineer whilst has van is not in motion.

page_text: "
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Bradbury and Joseph Bamford in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
BRADBURY, of Shrewsbury, in the County of Salop, and JOSEPH BAMFORD,
of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Thomas Bradbury and Joseph Bamford, Her
special license that we, the said Thomas Bradbury and Joseph. Bamford,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Thomas Bradbury and Joseph Bamford, 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 “IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATING
BETWEEN THE PASSENGERS, GUARD, AND ENGINE DRIVER UPON RAILWAYS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Bradbury and
Joseph Bamford, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our, or one of our, 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 Thomas Bradbury, on behalf of
myself and the said Joseph Bamford, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,. to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to afford a more ready and certain means
of communicating between the passengers, guard, and engine driver
upon railway trains in case of accident, assault, or other emergency, and

page_text: the Invention consists principally in causing a current of air actuated by
a fan, bellows; or other suitable contrivance, and worked either by friction
pulley revolving against the carriage wheels or by a drum or excentric
on the axles of the carriage, to blow or sound a whistle attached to the
carriage, and thus give the necessary signal or alarm.
Each carriage is provided with its own whistle and its accompanying
"apparatus so that on making up or detaching any portion of the train,
there are no connections or fastenings other than the ordinary couplings
to be attended to..
The signal apparatus is to be put in gear with the wheel or axle when
required by means of a knob, lever, handle, or other similar contrivance
one of which is placed in each compartment of the carriage, and this
knob, lever, or handle is so arranged that upon its being moved so as to
sound the whistle, it shall simultaneously throw out a semaphore at
the side or top of the carriage or compartment to indicate to the
guard or other person in charge the carriage or compartment where
'attention is required.
:
+
It is also so arranged that when once put in motion the passenger who
gave the signal will have no power to put it out of gear, but this must
be done outside, as it must be pushed, pulled, or turned over a catch,
sneck, or other contrivance which the guard alone can disengage when
the cause of alarm is removed.
It can also be so arranged (if thought desirable) as to lift the roof lamp
partially out of its socket on the top of the carriage, instead of or in
addition to actuating the semaphore, as above described, so as to indicate
in the night time or in tunnels whence the signal proceeds. The whistle.
in the guard's van is so arranged that he can work the air pump, fan, or
bellows, by means of a lever or treadle, when the van is not in motion,
the object being to give the guard 'the means of communicating a signal
to the engine driver in case of the breaking of a coupling or in a similar
contingency where the guard might require to call the attention of the
Engineer whilst his van is not in motion.
Such being the nature and object of our said. Invention for “Improved
Means of Communicating between the Passengers, Guard, and Engine
Driver upon Railways," I will now proceed to describe more in detail,
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed, or carried
into practical effect, and in order that the same may be clearly under-
stood, we have annexed. hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative

page_text: thereof; and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof.
4.19
In the annexed Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our improved
apparatus shown as applied to a railway carriage, and Fig: 2 is an
enlarged view seen partly in section; and Fig. 13 is a plan view of the
same. In the Drawing the whistle is shown as sounded by means of an
air, pump, but it will be evident that a fan or other suitable contrivance
may be employed for that purpose if preferred.
33.
..་
From a bracket a, a, fixed to the bottom of the carriage is suspended
a swinging frame b, b, carrying a small air pumpic, c,and at its outer
end a drum or pulley d, d, connected to the piston of the air pump d*, d*,
by a crank pin e, e, and connecting rod f.f. From this air pump a
tube g, g, leads to the alarm whistle h, h, placed at the top of the
carriage. Under ordinary circumstances when the alarm is not in use
the swinging frame b, b, is held up in the position shown in Fig. 1 by
tion shown in
means of a pin or bar i, i, secured by a catch k, k, so that the drum or
pulley d, d, is not in contact with the axle 1, 1, of the carriage, and the
whole apparatus is at rest, as shown at Fig. 1; but when it becomes
necessary to give an alarm or signal, all that the passenger has to do is
to release the catch k, k, by pulling a handle or pressing a knob (provided
in each compartment), when the swinging frame will fall and bring the
drum or pulley d, d, into contact with the axle 1, 1, of the carriage, which
will immediately set the apparatus in motion, and the whistle will
continue to sound until the swinging frame has been again raised and
secured by the catch which can only be done by the guard or some other
person outside the carriage. In the guard's van a hand wheel or a treadle
is provided by means of which he can sound his whistle when the van is
stationary, as before stated.
It will be evident that the falling of the swinging frame may be made
to raise the roof lamp or actuate.a semaphore or other visible signal to
assist in calling attention to the carriage or compartment from whence
the signal or alarm proceeded.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be, or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that
we claim as our Invention the use or employment of an apparatus for
blowing a whistle attached to the carriage by means of an air pump, fan,
or bellows actuated by a drum or pulley carried in a swinging frame

page_text: capable of being put into instant frictional contact with the axle of the
carriage, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings annexed.
! In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Bradbury, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witnessed by
GEORGE DAVIES, C.E.,
Office for Patents,
Manchester.
THOMAS BRADBURY. (L.S.)