IMPROVED MEANS OF SIGNALLING OR COM- MUNICATING WITH THE GUARD OR ENGINE DRIVER IN RAILWAY TRAINS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Muntz, of Millbrook, in the County
of Hants, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS OF SIGNALLING OR COM-
MUNICATING WITH THE GUARD OR ENGINE DRIVER IN RAILWAY TRAINS."
Sealed the 16th April 1861, and dated the 11th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Muntz at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th January 1861.
I, WILLIAM HENRY MUNTZ, of Millbrook, in the County of Hants, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
SIGNALLING OR COMMUNICATING WITH THE GUARD OR ENGINE DRIVER IN RAILWAY
TRAINS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to afford facility to passengers in railway car-
riages for communicating with the guard or engine driver in case of accident
or danger by very simple and inexpensive means, which can be attached or de-
tached with the greatest ease when the carriages are connected or disconnected.
The Invention consists principally in providing each carriage with a rope or
cord made of vulcanized india-rubber or common rope covered with leather or
other material passing through metallic tubes attached under the roof of the
carriage inside, the ends of the said rope being outside; the ends of the
carriages are furnished respectively with a spring hook and an eye or ring, by

page_text: which they are connected so as to form one continuous rope from one end of
the train of carriages to the other. The extreme ends of the rope may be
connected to a bell or other alarm in each guard's van, the guard of the first
van having under his control a small bell on the engine or tender to warn the
engineer, or the rope may be extended so as to communicate to the steam
whistle, or a bell on the engine or tender.
The signal is given by pulling the rope in any one of the compartments at
the space between the tubes, which will sound the signal at the extreme end
of the rope, either in the guard's van or on the engine. or tender. It will also
be evident, that should any of the carriages become accidently disconnected on
the journey by the snapping of the couplings, or otherwise, the danger signal
will be sounded before or at the moment of the breaking of the rope, and thus
warn the guard or engine driver.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Muntz in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY MUNTZ, of Millbrook, in the County of Hants, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord-One-
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Henry. Muntz, Her special licence that I, the said-William Henry
Muntz, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Henry Muntz, my 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 SIGNALLING OR COMMUNICATING WITH THE, GUARD OR ENGINE DRIVER IN
RAILWAY TRAINS," upon the condition. (amongst others) that I, the said William
Henry Muntz, 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

page_text: Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Muntz, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say-
The object of this Invention is to afford facility to the passengers or guards.
in railway carriages for communicating with the guard or engine driver in
case of accident or extreme danger, by very simple and inexpensive means,
which can be attached and detached with the greatest ease when the carriages
are connected or disconnected.
The Invention consists principally in providing each carriage with a rope or
cord made of vulcanized indian-rubber (or common rope covered with leather
or other material) passing through metallic tubes attached by brackets or
otherwise, under the roof of the carriages inside. The ends of the said rope
being outside the ends of the carriages or tubes, and furnished respectively
with a spring hook and an eye or ring, by which they are connected, so as to
form one continuous rope from one end of the train of carriages to the other.
In each or any of the carriages or compartments, a small space is left between.
the ends of the tubes where the rope may be grasped by the passengers when
it is desired to sound the signal; or, if preferred, the tubes which enclose the
ropes may be supported above the roofs of the carriages outside, by means of
standards, which are capable of being readily adjusted either higher or lower,
so as to bring the tubes on all the carriages, vans, or trucks of a railway train
as near as possible to one level, and in those carriages or compartments of
carriages where it is thought desirable to afford the means of communication,
a small rope or cord, or iron rod, with a ring or handle attached, (and which is
connected to the main rope) descends through the roof of the carriage. The
extreme ends of the main rope in either case may be connected to a bell or other
alarm in each guard's van; the guard of the first van having under his control
a small bell or other alarm on the engine or tender, to warn the engineer, or
the rope itself may be extended so as to communicate to the steam whistle, or
to a bell or other alarm on the locomotive, engine, or tender.
The signal is given by pulling the rope or iron rod in any one of the com-
partments at the space between the tubes (or if the tubes be outside, by
pulling the handle attached to the cord) which will sound the signal at the
extreme end of the rope in the guard's van on the engine or tender. A "tell-

page_text: tale" apparatus may readily be connected to the signal, so as to call attention
to the particular carriage or compartment from which the signal was sounded.
It will be evident, that should any of the carriages become accidently discon-
nected on the journey by the snapping of the couplings, or otherwise, the danger
signal will be sounded, either before or at the moment of the breaking of the
rope, and thus warn the guard and engine driver.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improved
Means of Signalling or Communicating with the Guard or Engine Driver in
Railway Trains," I will proceed to describe 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 distinctly understood, I have annexed hereunto two Sheets of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures and
letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof, that is to say:-
Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings exhibits the application of my Invention
when the tubes through which the ropes pass are suspended inside under the
roof of the carriages. Figure 1 represents a side view of two first-class railway
carriages, with my Invention applied; and Figure 2 is a partial section of
the same on an enlarged scale, showing more clearly the details of the
arrangement.
A, A, are metallic tubes suspended immediately under the roof of the
_carriage by the brackets or hangers B, B; C, C, is the rope passing through
the same, and connected by the spring hook D, D, and eye or ring E, E;
F, F, are stops to prevent the rope from slipping into the carriage when
unshackled or disconnected.
It will be observed that between the ends of the tubes A, A, inside the
carriages, there is a space where the rope is exposed to view, and it will be
evident that by pulling the rope at this part any alarm connected to the end of
the rope may be readily sounded. It is not proposed to afford this means of
communication in every carriage or compartment, but only where it may be
thought desirable, and in all the other carriages or compartments the tube A, A,
is made continuous, without any break or space.
In Sheet 2 of the Drawings, is exhibited the method of applying this Inven-
tion outside the carriages above the roof; Figure 1 being a side view of two
first-class carriages with a van at one end and a truck at the other; and
Figure 2 an enlarged view showing the details.
A, A, are metallic tubes supported above the roof of each carriage by
brackets or standards B, B, which are adjustable to any height required by

page_text: sliding them up or down in the staples C, C, attached to the ends of the
carriages, and may be firmly fixed, when so adjusted, by means of the set
screws D, D. The upper end of each of these standards is formed, as shewn
at Figure: 4 with a fork a, a, for receiving the tube and a clasp b, b, for fixing.
the same therein; E, E, are the ropes or wire cords passing through the
tubes A, A, and F, F; G, G, are the spring hook and eye for connecting the
ends of the same; II, II, are stops to prevent the rope from slipping. into the
tube when unshackled; I, I, (see Figure 1) are handles in each or any com-
partment desired, connected to the main rope E, E, by short cords or iron
rod passing through small upright tubes, or standards fixed on the roof of
the carriage. It will be evident that the action of this arrangement is
precisely the same as of that exhibited in Sheet 1 of the Drawings, and
herein-before described.
If it should be thought desirable, any form or construction of "tell-tale"
apparatus might be attached to each carriage, where the facility for the
passengers communicating is afforded, so as to call the attention of the guard
to that particular carriage whence the alarm has been given, so that he might,
if he thought proper, by walking along the footboards of the carriages ascertain
the cause of the alarm, before he signalled to the engine driver to stop the train.
A very simple arrangement for this purpose might be constructed as shewn
in cross section, Figure 3 (Sheet 2). A, A, is the tube supporting the main
rope E, E; I, I, is the handle inside the carriage; and K, K, is a short cord
connecting the same to the main rope; L, L, are small stops attached to the
cord K, and which, when the latter is pulled, raise the flag and uncover the
lantern, so as to be visible by day or night. This part of the apparatus should
be furnished with a spring catch to detain the parts "in statu quo" after the
alarm has been given, such being only capable of being released by means of a
key in the possession of the guard. When the iron rod is used instead of the
short cords, the handles of the flag or disc, and that of the lantern shade will
be pivotted into the shaft, on which also is a notch, which catches into a
spring latch, preventing the handle from being pushed up till released by the
guard's key. This arrangement would always ensure the detection of the
person who sounded the signal, and if a heavy fine were imposed upon any
person sounding the signal needlessly, the giving of false alarms would be
effectually prevented.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
Improved Means of Signalling or Communicating with the Guard or Engine
Driver in Railway Trains," together with the manner in which the same is to

page_text: be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion, that I claim as my Invention the general construction and arrange-
ment of the apparatus, as exhibited in the annexed Drawings, and more
especially I claim the use of the tubes for enclosing the rope and the adjustable
brackets or standards for supporting the same; also the tell-tale and detector
of the person giving the signal.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Muntz, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.