A New Signalling Lamp.

Progress, Volume II, Issue 6, 1 April 1907, Page 222

A New Signalling Lamp.

During his peregnnations, among other matters of interest in the shape of novel inventions, one of our reporters came across a lamp patented by Messrs. A. H. Byron and R. R. Richmond. The lamp is a mechanical one, fitted at its base with a very simple clockwork mechanism, worked by a push button with the thumb of the hand that holds the lamp This mechanism causes the inner cylinder of the lamp to revolve, bringing glasses of any set of colours which the lamp is fitted with between the burner and the bull's-eye glass m the front of the lamp, thus forming a sort of mechanical heliograph. The reason of this can easily by arrived at. If a military or naval secret code is needed, the " Morse Code " could be at once applied with red, green, or violet lights, thus producing an infinite variation in code signalling at night time. But for railway purposes this lamp should prove itself invaluable, if the claims set out by these gentlemen are correct ; in that, being a " one hand lamp " in lieu of the " two handed lamp ' (now in use on all railways in the world), a guard in charge of a train can easily use it with safety and expedition while standing upon the footboard of his van The indicator shows at once the colour of the light thrown through the bull's-eye glass, so that all possible risk of showing wrong colour through carelessness is obviated. We hear of other attempts having been made in this direction, but they have all hitherto proved unworkable and unreliable. For the sake of the safety of the travelling public as so much depends on reliable signalling, we would be glad to see this ingenious contrivance proved to be a complete succes=. — N Z Times

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