US1490789A - Safety device for railway crossings - Google Patents

Description

April 15 1924.

l. D. W-ALTER Filed Jan. 17. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ki g n H gwuentot; Y N j; ,4 WM

attouwsa.

April 15 a 1924. 4

l. D. WALTER SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS Filed Jan. 17. 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 attm a 42 April 15 1924.

|. D. WALTER SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS Filed Jan. 17 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I. D. WALTER SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS April 15 1924. 1,490,789

Filed Jan. 17 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 "Illllll April 15 1924.

|. D. WALTER SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS E if O l ww F ck E of. El h Q5 IRA 13. "WALTER,

TZ'IOMASFJ. JOYI' TEB, t.)

"BJBG, AEKANEAS, ASSIGJIQR F THREE-EIGEITHS CHARLES 3'. MITCHELL, ALL OF HAE-BZSBURG, ABKANS SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAIIFNAY CRGSSINGS.

Application filed January 1'7, 1924. Serial No. 686,750.

To all #0720215 2'? t me come/H I Be it known that l, lam l) \VAL'rsn,

l laifi'isbui'g, in the county of Poinsett end ,irkensas, have invented a certani l5 ltate :JQVlCQS to): Railway (hossings, of which the of is a full, clear, and exact descrip- All DOS

motor vchic es, when horse-crown vehicles comprised the bulk of tirallic upon roadways, a grade crossing the intersections of roadways with railways at grade are commonly known, were Well guarded nst accidents incident to collision be- {ll'lS and road \"QlllClQS bvsucn gates 1 1 chic and visible signals. However, since the motor veh cle has come so generallv into use, and s nce the bulk of oad trailic is new composed of: motor vehicles. and as the speed which may be stained by such vehicles renders it impossible to stop high speed and 4 a 1.- g1 oximity nos become neces- .icnly when travclii Without sufiicicnt Was Oi s g; 'ade crossing, sa lto depart :iromthe OT jLlUSQIV types of o N, audible signals and visible signals, and to which Will warn ng ct crossing; ei at high. speed, to SQOQWM) lukclllcg of such ClOSSlTJ when a the crossing.

the railway a1 I The object of my inve tion L to provide the motorist such ample proximity of the gmde ile him even when tizfovelin a safe a safety device on guard to]? grade ores inns Which will give the operator ot a vehicle apptoaching such crossing WflllllllQ' of its proximity, and, at the some time, of the proximity of a train to the crossing, and which ivilhif such Warning citizen of the United States, residing at T 216W and useful Improvement in Safety sud-' i'esoiit to some sort of crossing guard train upon ample is disregarded by the operator, especially in the case Whei'e his vehicle is one having pneumatic tires injure the tires the t iuiniistaliable evidence of his having failed to heed the Warning will be provided.

It Will therefore be seen that; in order to attain the highest possible degree of efi'iciency, I have recognized three indispenyable essentials in dealing with the motorist. These are, first, to Warn him by suitable signals when within a potential danger zone; second, to successively designate the progressive approach of a train when Within a certain distance 01"- the highway or crossing: and, third, to obstruct the crossing, so far as automobile trafiic is concerned, when the train has reamed a point Where an attempt to pass in front of the engine would be extremely hazardous.

Aside from loss of life, bodily injury, and complete or substantial Wrecking of his vehicle, the damage to such vehicle which is most ezasperating to a motorist is the blowing out puncturing of his tires, and inasmuch as With my device I provide ioi. the practically certain mutilation of all of the tires oi the vehicle education the driving publi to the end that may know What property loss, regardless of bedily injury, they may sustain by disregard of the Warning given by the device of my invention, should result in a reasonable regard for such warning To this end. the invention consists in a sat ty device for railway crossings, that is, intersections at r de hetivc railways and roadways, comprising? essentially a plurality, preferably three, of visible signal devices located in or adjacent to the roadway, at varying distances from the railway on both approaches of the eadway thereto, said signal devices being interconnected for simultaneous operation, and connected With means spaced at suitable intervals adjacent to the railway tracks adapted for successive operation upon the passage of a train to actuate the signal devices, and a, barrier located adjacent to the railway tracks and including a plurality of tire mutilating spikes adapted to be projected above the plane of the surface of the roadway simultaneously with the actuation by the train of the last track adjacent means above mentioned, and track adjacent device adapted to be actuated by the train after it has crossed the roadway for the purpose of retracting said spikes and of resetting said signs devices; and in various details of construction, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in theseveral figures of which like parts are similarly designated Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the whereby the visible signal devices and the barrier may be actuated during the p;- age of a train. In this figure all of the. de-

vices are shown arranged in connection with a single track railroad, but they may equally well applied to a road having any number of tracks, their respective arrange ment being the same. 3 is a plan view on a still larger scale of one of the track adjacent devices and its connected mecha nism, and showing the device in normal and actuated positions. Fig. l is a side elevation of the parts shown in 3. Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5- 5 of Fig. 3 and showing the means for supporting the swinging end of the cam member of the track adjacentdevice. Fig. is a side elevation showing, in broken lines, the pilot of a locomotive, and in full lines the roller mechanism carried thereby for engagement'with the cam members of the track adjacent de vices. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view of the supporting base of one of the visible signal devices, showing the operating mechanism therefor. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation talren on the line S -8 of T. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the signal head. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the barrier, per time being broken away reveal certain parts of the mechanism the of. 11 is fragmentary sectiona. on of the parts L eleva shown in 10. 12 is a section ta en on the line 1.2 19 of 11. Fi 13 is a section taken on the line 1313 or 11. F is a fragmentary sectional view showing the spiked. bar in elevated position.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, the invention, as hereinabove explained, coinprises a plurality, preferably three, of visible signal devices A A and A same being duplicated upon each approach to the railway B, the signals A, being located at a distance of approximately 800 feet from the railway, the signals A, being located at a distance of approximately feet from the railway, and the signals A, being located only a short distance, say 10 or 15 feet from the railway.

As shown in the drawings, these signals are arranged in approximately the center of the roadway, and it is in such position that I believe they will most successfully serve their purpose, as anyone approaching the railway cannot fail to see a signal located directly in his path. ,l'lowever, the signals may be located at the side ofthe roadway, and of course such location of them would be imperative in case the roadway were not of suficient width to permit a vehicle to pass around an obstruction located in its center.

All of the signal devices are connected for simultaneous operation by means of rods or cables 1, and these rods or cables are connected through fulcrum members 2 with suitable devic (st C and C, located adjacent to the right hand rail of each track of the railway, the devices C, located approximately I i-O0, feet from the roadway, the devices G at approximately 300 feet from the roadway, and the devices G at approximately 200 feet from the roadway on each approach thereto, and these devices are connected to each other and to the fulcriun 'members 2 by means of cables 4 as will be 'vide a barrier E which. I prefer to locate just inside of the right hand rail of one of the traclrs, though it may be otherwise positioned across the roadway if desired, and connect this barrier with the track adjacent devices. C and D in such a manner that its tire mutilating spil -s will be projected when device C is actuated by an approaching train and will be r .tracted when tie device l) is actuated upon the passage of the 10-.

comotive across the roadway, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

Each of the signal devices A A A, is provided with a rotatable head 6 (Fig. 8) mounted upon a vertically rotatable shaft 7 supported within a stationary support or sleeve 8 carried by a supporting base 9 which forms an enclosure for the working parts of the signal device and which I prefer to mount upon a concrete foundation 10 located suitabledistance below the surface 11 of the roadway so that approximately only the support 8 and the head 6 and its associated parts will stand above the roadway.

The rotatable head 6 is enclosed, except for one quarter of its circumference, within a shield 12, and the head, which, as will be seen is cylindrical, has .its circun'iference divided into four exhibiting spaces 13, each ad: pted to receive a translucent indicia-earrying plate 14.

(line of the plates 14 is provided with the legend ll. R. danger which will serve to indicate to a person approaching the signal devices that a railway crosses the roadway, the next plate in rotative succession will hear the legend Train 400 feet or a simi lar legend, to indicate to the approaching driver ihatthere a train. within 400 feet of the crossing; the next plate in rotative succession will bear the legend, Train 300 feet, or a similar legend to indicate that the train is within 300 feet from the crossing; and. the fourth or final plate in rotat'ive succession will bear the legend 200 feet stop, or a similar legend to indicate that the train is within 200 feet of the crossing and that the driver should stop his vehicle, as progress across the tracks after the showing of this signal will in all probability result in a collision.

I prefer to have the plates bearing the legends ll. R. dangefi and 200 feet stop colored red, the common color for a danger signal, and the other indicia-bearing plates may be of any other contrasting colors as desired.

Any suitable light, such as an electric light or an oil lamp may be enclosed within the rotatable head for the purpose of lllfllnl nating the indieia-bearing plates, and, in case an electric lamp is used, any well known typ of switch may be provided for illumin the signals upon actuation of the ig means.

successive rotation of the heads of the signal devices is accomplished by means of the rods or cables 1 and their connections with the fulcrum members 2 and track adiaceut devices C and C as hereinabove indicated, the rods 1 being suitably connected with slide roos and 16 preferably forming a mountpart of a slide member 1" cd within the base 9 and carrying a pawl 18 arranged for engagement with a ratchet wheel 19 mounted upon the lower end of the shaft '7. This slide member 17, through its connections with the rods or cables 1 will be moved to the left Fig. 7) upon actuation of one of the track adjacent devices and will,

, throu h its pawL rotate the 'atchet wheel l9 and with it the rotatable head. 6 through a quarter turn, and after the track adjacent device has been passed by the locomotive of the train and has returnedto normal posi tion, the slide member 17 will be returned to the position shown in Fig. 7 by means of a heavy spring 20. Reverse rotation of the ratchet wheel 19 is prevented by means of a pawl 21.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 10 to la inclusive, the barrier E hereinabove menwhen the devices G tioned comprises a casing forming a housing for the working parts, and adapted to be positioned upon and supported by the railroad ties, and within this housing is mounted a guide frame comprising longitudinal side members 2 3, 23 and end members 2% suitably secured together as by bolts Vi ithin this guide frame is mounted a vertically movable bar 26 provided with a plurality of spikes 27 arranged approximately two or two and onc-half inches apart throughout its length, and this bar, when in normal depressed position, rests upon the bottom of the casing 22. Journalled in downward extensions 28 of the side members 23, 28' are short shafts 29 carrying lever members 30 arranged between the side members 23, 2S and they also carry, outside of the member 23 and between it and the side wall 31 of the casing 22, segmental lever plates 32 connected through arcuate slots 33 in the side member 23 with lugs 34 carried by the lever members 30. All of the plates 32 are connected together for simultaneous operation so as to result in concerted action in elevating the spiked bar 26 through the lever members 30, by means of links 35 pivoted to each other and to the plates 32 by studs 32, and the last of these bars 35 at each end of the device extends through the adjacent end of the casing 22 and is connected in any suitable manner, as by means of rocker arms 36 and 37 respectively upon rock shafts and 39 respectively and rocker arms 40 and 41 upon the reel: shafts 38 and 39 respectively with rods or cables 42 and 48, which in turn are connected for opera tion with the track adjacent devices C, and D respectively.

By this arrangement, it will be seen that are actuated by a pass- 7 -inks 35 will be moved to the left, Fig. 11, and will, through the plates 32 lugs 34, swing the lever n1emhers 30 about their pivots 29 and elevate the spiked bar 26; and when the track adjacent devices D are actuated by a train after having passed the crossing, the bars or links 35 will be moved to the right, Fig. 11, and will return the parts to the positions shown in Fig. 11.

It may be noted that when the spiked bar 26 is in fully elevatee. position, the lugs 84? will have reached the upper ends of the slots 33 and will lie directly at dead center with respect to the shaft 25), whereby all pressure which may be brought to bear against the projecting spikes 27 will, instead of tending to impart a turning move, ment to the lever menii'iers 30. be borne di rectly by the upright ends of the lever members and in direct vertical line through their pivots.

The weight of the spiked bar 26 is pref erably such that the initial return or de- 3 mg train, the bars or pressing movement of the lever members 30 will cause the bar to descend of its own accord, thereby (llSPQDSlHg with the necessity for the use of springs for returning it to depressed position.

All of the parts contained within the casing 22 are covered and protected by means of an arcuate cover pl e 41- pr vided with openin s 45 through v spikes 27 g rich the may be projected upon elevation of the bar 26.

In order that fore excluded from the l? 1 its contain d worki necessary to prov a covering the openi gs 45. This I accomplish by means of a longitudinally e ing guard plate 46 pivotally carri- 1 upon the ends of cam members 47. These cam members are pivoted at 48 upon the ends 24 of. the guide frame and provided with cam slots 49 with which lugs 40 formed on the ends of the bar 26 and extending through vertical slots 51 18) in the end plates 24. 1 this arrangement. it will be seen that wl spiked bar 26 is elevated. the lugs 50, traveling in the cam slots 49 of the plates 47, will cause the guard plate 46 to be moved out of covering position with respect to the openings and'will permit the spikes 27 to be projected through these openings. 1

of course closr or Upon descent of the bar 26, reverse movement of the guard plate 46 will take place and the openings will again be covered. inasmuch as it is necessary to form a slot in the cover 44 to accommodate the movement or the portion 0 the cam plate 47 which carries the ends 0" the guard plate 46, some means must be pro vided for preventing entrance of foreign substances through this slot 52, and to this end l provice a raised covering housing 53 which may be bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the cover 44, thereby completely enclosing the working parts.

l deem it advisable to provide an abutment or stop to limit the movement of the plate 46 in closing direction and to provide means for enabl the wheels of a vehicle to ride over this b 46 without disturbing it, and such an abutment is preferably formed by a plurality of gradually upwardly sloping members 54 of substantial saw-tooth conformation. This saw-tooth formation is used so that the contact between the bar 46 and th abutment will be composed only of a series of upstanding sharp edges rather than a continuous edge and thereby the chance for lodgment of dirt, pebbles and the like as far as possible prevented and the effective closing operation of the plate 46 ensured.

The construction of my barrier as above described makes it possible to partially fill the casing with grease or heavy oil to thereby afford efficient and sustained lubrication of all of the working part-s.

Referring now to the track adjacent devices, which, when operated upon the passage of a train, impart movement to the signal devices and the barrier hereinbefore described, attention is directed particularly to 1 to 6 inclusive.

Each of the track adjacent devices C l C, and D includes a cam member 55 pivote ably secured upon the end of a tie, if a tie should be located in co venicnt position, or upon a plate 57 (Fig. 2} spanning adjacent ties. The opposite or swinging end 58 of each of the cam members is supported by an upstanding arcuate plate 59-see particularly 8, and 5,which, in addition to its function as a support, furnishes a stop, by means f a shoulder 60, as will later appear, and, by means f a slot- 61, provides means for holding down the end 58 of the cam member, as hereinafter described.

The arcuate member 59 is mounted upon plate 62 supported upon adjacent tie ends, and this plate 62 in the case of the members C and C forms a support for a bell crank lever 63 suitably connected by one of its arms 64 through a rod or cable 4 and flexible connection or chain 66 with a similar lever arm of the next adjacent track device (Fig. 2), and its other arm 67 carrying at its end a roller 68 bearing against a down turned flange 69 of the cam member 55. The bell crank is pivoted upon a trunnion 70 carried by the plate 62. The roller 68 is held normally in engagement with the ilan ge 69 by means of a spring 71 extending between. the arm 64 and the member 59 and serving, in addition to its function of maintaining the roller 68 in contact with the flange 69 as a means for normally retaining the cam member 55 in position to be actuated by the passage of a train (full line position, Fig. 3). In the case of the devices (1,, the plate 62 and its trunnion 70 carry, in addition to the above mentioned bell crank lever 63, a bell crank lever 72 having an arm 7 3 connected with the cable or rod 42, hereinbefore described, and an arm 74 provided with a roller 7 5 in contact with the flange 69 of the cam member and adapted for operation therebv to effect elevation of the spiked bar 26 through the medium of the mechanism hereinbefore described.

The arms 64 of the lever 68 in all of the devices 0,, C C upon the same side of the railroad track are interconnected by means of t is cables or rods 4 and flexible connections or chains 66 in order that C C and G may successively impart motion to the fulcrum members 2 through cables or rods 4 and flexible connections or chains 77 connected with arms 64 of lovers 63 of the devices Q, as a train approaches the flexible "l upon a stand 56 (Figs. 3 and 4) suiti aeefise conn ctions and 7'? serving to permit flexing of the connec -nis between the members C C and 2, pectively, when a successive operation of the members C C O, t and D takes place.

l l l iere the down-turned flange 69 of the cam member extends around the end 58 and embraces the member 59, is provided with a tongue 78 which enters the slot 61 to prevent raising of the end of the cam member, as hereinbei re indicated.

The devices l) are similar in construction and opera ion to the devices except that thes devices D being located across the h roadway from the devices and the fulchin e nbers 2 the null u )on the fulcrum T7 1 r embers must no reversed, and therei'ore ie levers 1 e and 80 C(klbl'OllQCl by the nien1- D must act in the reverse direction, vei-s serving respectively to return iielnbers to initial lid. danger -10. to return the spiked bar 26 to oosition, by neans of the cables he cables or rods and their l that the signal m mbers located upon approaches to the railway may sinnil' r operated by trains passdirection, l connect the two i; -i JllJQIS by means of cables or nation of one fulcrum the other. urpose of actuating the track l6: ices C C C and D, I prefer evice to be carried by the pilot of "e, this device corn g in its ,=:l "iorzn (see Fig. 6) a roller 83 arl'or engagement with the track adjathe downward-turned flanges v.iie cain members and having a shoul- 776d to ride upon the tops of the roller being slidably in a bearing 86, 88, suitably atat l. The roller is not By this be seen 'ences in relative position between levices and the roller i of the locomotive may be to ha e the diacent devices backward, we roller, 1 adapted to to impart iuovenient t l pit ot Si, wl'iereby r. upon this pivot and e ..1 1 111 11.1 a t the cam $116111 cis without actuating wing them.

desired to prevent actuation or" devices when the iO('Ol110- ing forward, the roller 83 may i it is the ,cl tive is rube moved out of cam member engaging po- .sition by means of a rod or link 92 suitably connected with control means (not shown) in the cab of the locomotive by which movement may be imparted to the roller about its pivot 87 to raise the roller.

The operation of the device is substantially as tollows:1iissurning that a train is approaching the crossing, it will, by means of the roller 83 mounted upon the locomotive pilot, first operate the track adjacent device which through its cable or rod & and the similar cables or rods of the devices and C respectively, impart a quarter turn to the fulcrum member 2, which will in turn through its connections 1 with the signal devices A,, A and h impart a quarter turn to the rotatable heads thereof to present to the View of the driver of a vehicle approaching upon the roadway, the plate bearing the legend Train 400 feet. The train having passed the device C, will in turn approach and actuate the device 6,, which will, through its connections with the signal devices operate in the same manner the device C, to move the rotatable heads of the signal devices through a second quarter turn to thereby present to the driver of the vehicle the plate bearing the legend Train 800 feet. lhe train having passed the device (1,, will in turn approach and operate the device G which will through its connections with the signal devices and the barrier turn the rotatable heads of the signal devices through a third quarter turn to thereby present to the .river of a vehicle the plate bearing the legend 200 feet stop, and will elevate the spiked bar 26 of the barrier. it will of course be understood 1 Y 1 that at the time or this last mentioned operation, the train is approximately 200 feet distaut from the crossing, and the vehicle operator who thinks that he can take a chance of crossin the tracks ahead of the train in disre ard of the warning will, upon reaching the railroad tracks present the tires of his vehicle to tie projecting; spikes oi the barrier and will have them punctured or badly mutilated, depending upon whether he is runnin slowly or rapidly.

If the crossing is made ahead of the train, the driver will pay the penalty of having four practical y useless tires, and will in ad dition carry v .1 him unmistakable evidence that he has disre arded the warning duly given him that there was danger in attempt ing to make the crossing.

he is struck by the approaching train, his tires it late? recover-cc, will bear mute evidence of the fact that he disregarded the Warning and tool: his life in his hands in attempting to make the crossing.

Gbviously, this evidence would be of value in case of a civil action inestiinabu against the railroad, in showing negligence der all conditions.

on the part of the vehicle driver, and would tend to reduce the damages which he might recover from the railroad, or might even prevent any recovery of damages.

If a fine were imposed by statute, for crossing a railway in disregard of the warning given by the devices of my invention, and the driver who took a chance did succeed in crossing ahead of a train, the evidence borne by his tires of having come in contact with the barrier of my invention would almost certainly result in his detection and arrest.

After the train has operated the devices 0,, G, and G and has passed. over the crossing, itwill operate the device D which will, through its connections with. the fulcrum members 2 and the signal devices A,, A A, and the barrier E, turn the rotatable heads of the signal devices 'tlnrough the fourth quarter tur to thereby return them to initial position to present to vehicle drivers the plate bearing the legend R. R. danger and will actuate the mechanism hereinbetore described, for returning the spiked bar 26 to depressed position, thus presenting to vehicles a clear crossing.

Although, in the interest clearness ot the drawings, the various rods and cables are Shown as unprotected by housings, these rods and cables may be suitably housed and lubricated to ensure their easy operation un- Furthermore, particularly where cables or other non-rigid connections are used, springs, of sulicient strength to form non-expanding connections under ordinary operating conditions but capable of expansion to compensate for variations in the length oi the connections, may be installed between sections of such connections.

I have hereinbetore spoken oi using either electric or oil lamps for providing illumination of the signal devices. Obviously where electricity is available, as would generally be the case in urban and suburban crossings, its use for the illumination of the sigma devices would be practical and desiraale, bu in outlying districts, such as open count where electricity is not available, the of oil lamps may be resortet to, altho would be pe" cctly feasible to use dry storage batte ms in connection with a su; able switch, as hereinbetore mentioned, re; furnishing illumination tor the signal devices.

It will thus be seen that 1 pro *ide a safety device for railway crossings which not only gives ample warning to the drivers of vehicles approaching the crossing upon the roadway, but in addition erects before them a barrier which no driver having regard for his property would cross, even though he might be inclined to take a chance with his life, In addition, my invention is well adapted for installation at grade crossings the approaches to which are blind. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the signal devices, although I have shown and described them as located upon approaches to a crossing running substantially at right angles to the railway, might be located upon approaches extending obliquely across the railway, and either comprising one road only crossing the railroad, or a number of roads crossing same at the same point.

Although I have herein shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, and have mentioned a number of changes which might be made therein, I do not wish it to be understood that I thereby consider my invention as limited to this particular disclosure, but contemplate various changes in the construction, arrangement,

and operation of the various parts comprising the complete operative whole as within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is 1. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a signal device located upon the roadway, and a plurality of successively operable devices located adjacent to the railway tracks at suitable distances respectively from said crossing, said track adjacent devices arranged for successive actuation by a train approaching the crossing for the purposeot operating said signal device to indicate the successive relative proximity of said train to said crossing.

2. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a plurality of signal devices located on the roadway at its approaches to the railway, and a plurality of successively operable devices located adjacent to the railway traclts at suitable distances respectively from the crossing, said track adjacent devices adapted for successive actuation upon the passage of a train for operating said signal devices simultaneously.

8. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a signal device located on the roadway and adapted to inform a driver on the roadway of successive points in the approach of a train to the crossing, and a plurality or devices located adjacent to the railway tracks at successive lessening distances from the crossing, said track adjacent devices adapted to be operated successively upon the passage of a train to impart train position indicating operation to said signal device.

4. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a plurality of visible signal devices located varying distances from the railway respectively and adapted for operation to successively show positions in the approach of a train to the crossing plui'z lity devices located sclgacent to the railway tracks successive lessening distance from the cross- 01., ietween ing and adapted to be actuated by s cussing ssicl 1, ml iletrain successively, and means connect vices is ex lQGn to ssicl track adjacent devices with snicl signal indicate rain from 7 devices whereby upon successive independent res .i-clutivc operation of the l: sclisceno oevices the uni! a,

signal devices will he siiiooltsneo steel to indicate to s vehicle ch'ivi ill'uC cessive less :iing distance of "he uppsoschthe ZOEL ing train from the crossing. Q

5. A safety device for gm roadways with i'silwsys, in 11 c rslity of signal cievicos loci e roadway, each of said signs c provide with s. plurality of adapted for uccessive pres. view of approaching veil all of the signal devices coon taneous operation t gi-eseoi o ible signal whereby the chi i a plurality of stages train to the crossing sol successively by an a ces operatively connected with cos vices whereby saicl visi appropriately successively pic 6. A safety device for gist roadways with iceilwsys, Him rslity of signal devices upon each of soil signal devices he able heed bearing s plural indicating a rots.

train positios adapted for successive seps to the view of prise l L him of the train to the ciossiirig adjacent devices opera the passage of ticsv successively imparting rotation to the to i sble heads of ssitl sign ously, whereby simultaneously na l devices.

7. A safety (1 roadways with mlity of simultaneously o ic vices upon the rros wsy, i vices operable upon the la and arranged. at succesive 1 evice for grade cross ngs of railways including a pinshie i k tsnces from the crossing, sml means includ- 1:19; levers for; me; a oi Sllifl irscla: ilifi jscent devices and operating" coiincivicnti'y therewith and COU'AQCtlOWS lost/ween said le vers siirl ssirl s i (l ices, v when said levers exe soccessiwly schist 1 I, .1. M f, missing train tnei? mono mi nomittel to said signal c s to ressive simultaneous 1 device for e lo ilwzi rs, incluliti re 7 with re 1's itv o't simuitsiieo isiv ones i u U 1 o swnal devices iurahtv of signsl cievice and barrier to indicate a clear crossing and remove the obstruction of the barrier re spectively.

11. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a nal device on the roadway provided with means for visibly indicating successive positions of a train during its approach to the crossing, a plurality of track adjacent devices arranged at successive lessening dis tances from the crossing and train actuated successively, connections between 5. 'l track adjacent devices and said signal device for actuating said signal device in response to the actuation of said track adjacent devices, and a barrier including a plurality of p jectable spikes arranged transv belly of the roadway adjacent to the railway and actuated in response to the actuation of the track adjacent device nearest to the roadway, whereby upon actuation of said last men tioned track adjacent device said signal device and barrier will be simultaneously operated to apprise a vehicle driver of the proximity of a train to the crossing and to project said spikes to obstruct the passage of the vehicle respectively.

12. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a barrier arranged transversely of the roadway adjacent to the railway and having a casing, a plurality of project-able spikes arranged in said casing and normally enclosed thereby, means in said casing for projecting said spikes above the plane of the surface of the roadway, and train actuated means connected with said spike projecting means for imparting spike projecting movement thereto upon the approach of a train to the cross ing. 7

13. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a bar rier arranged transversely of the roadway adjacent to the railwa and having a casing, a plurality of projectahle spikes arranged in said casing and normally enclosed thereby, means in said casing for projecting said spikes above the plane of the surface of the roadway, train actuated means connected with said spike projecting means for imparting spike projecting movement thereto upon the approach of a train to the crossing,

and train actuated means connected with the spike projecting isle-ans and serving to return said spikes to normal position within the casing after the train has'passed the crossing.

1a. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways,including a barrier arranged in the roadway adjacent to the railway and comprising a plurality of projectable spikes, means for elevating said spikes above the plane of the surface of the roadway, and train actuated means conanges cw (T voill s rier located in t railway and in for elevation to l f l p ane o tne sin 1d bur adapted 1 -ies above "the member coop h said bar and adapted upon act it elevate same, and t iin actuated means operatively co nected with said lever llllifibt whereby izpou appreach of a train to said crossing 5 id will be elevated and said spikes projected. and upon passage of said train over the crossing said bar will be lowered and the spikes returned to normal depressed position.

16. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a barrier arranged in the roadway adjacent to the railway and con'iprising a casing, spiked bar arra ed for vertical sliding movement within id casing, a plurality of lever members cooperating w th said bar and adapted upon actuation to raise the same to thereby project said spikes above the plane of the surface of the roadway, a cover for said provided with openings through which said spikes are projected when the bar is raised, a movable plate normally covering said openings, con nections between said bar and plate whereby when said bar is raised said plate will be moved to uncover said openings to permit the passage of the spikes therethrough and when said bar is lowered said plate will be returned to normal opening covering position, and train actuated means opeiatively connected with said lever members and adapted upon approach of a train to the crossing to raise said bar and project said spikes and upon passage of the train over the crossing to cause said bar to return to normal depressed position.

17. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a barrier located in the roadway adjacent to the railway and comprising a casing, a guide frame carried within said casing, a spiked bar mounted for vertical sliding movement within said frame, a plurality of lever members pivotally mounted in said frame and serving upon actuation to raise said bar and project said spikes above the plane of the surface of the roadway, lever plates mounted exteriorly of said frame and within said casing and rigidly connected with said lever members through arcuate slots provided in said frame, links connected with said lever bar plates for moving them simultaneously upon their pivots, and train actuated devices operatively connected with said links, whereby when a train approaches the crossing said spikes will be projected and when the train passes over the crossing the spikes will he returned to normal depressed position.

18. A safety device for grade crossings of roadways with railways, including a bar-- rier arranged in the roadway adjacent to the railway and comprising a casing, a guide frame mounted within said casing, a spiked bar vertically slidable within said frame, means carried by said frame for raising said bar, the bar being of suficient weight to lower automatically when released, a cover for said casing provided with openings for the passage of the spikes when said bar is raised, a movable plate for normally closing said openings when said bar is in normal depressed position, cam memhers pivoted to said frame and to which said plate is connected, cooperating means on said bar and cam members whereby movement of the bar will move said cam members and the plate carriedtherehy, and train actuated means operatively connected with the her raising means, whereby when a train approaches the crossing said bar will he raised and the plate moved out of openin covering position to permit projection of the spikes therethrough, and when the train has passed thecrossin the bar raising means will he depresses, the bar will return to lowered position and the plate will he thereby returned to normal opening covering position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day or" January, A. l).

IRA D. W ALTER. Witnesses N. H. FINOKEL, Jr, LILLIE M. Keenan.

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